It’s raining.
It’s rained for days – weeks, even.
You notice the rain more when you live in 960 square feet; mostly because you’re outside more. Much, much more.
The back porch is my office. It stands several feet above the ground. I like my perch.
From it, I can gaze out on the lake. The same lake that flooded the bulkhead this morning and presently works its way up our lot.
Jeff loves it when the lake is high. He catches bass after bass. Last night he caught, cleaned and grilled up a couple of them for a late dinner.
A little butter, garlic salt and onion powder.
Perfect.
My porch office isn’t fancy; far from it.
A box fan blows my direction to ward off mosquitos, and my laptop sits on the glass table top where our family eats many a meal.
In a few hours, it will be dark, and I’ll turn on the clip lights behind me because we haven’t yet been able to purchase the light fixtures for the back porch.
One thing at a time.
We’ve been here eight months, and we haven’t even scraped the surface of what we want to accomplish, but it’ll come–or it won’t. Either way, it’s okay.
I’ve received a few emails from readers asking me what exactly I mean when I say we faithsized our life.
“Does it mean downsizing?”
“Is it about debt freedom?”
“Is it another word for minimalism?”
“Are you and Jeff just cheap?”
Faithsizing is a simple word I coined to mean obediently and faithfully aligning one’s position and purpose before the Lord.
As a Christian, I believe each of us are uniquely created by our Father in Heaven to fulfill a divine purpose, and as believers we are to live it out in every aspect of our lives.
With that understanding, faithsizing looks different for each of us.
Faithsizing may be the weighty responsibility of great wealth and success. God may position you for philanthropy or place you in positions of great influence.
Praise the Lord!
Walk in faith.
Faithsizing may be growing a family or accepting that God may intend for you to expand your family through domestic or international adoption or sponsorship.
Praise the Lord!
Walk in faith.
Faithsizing may be facing a lifelong struggle with gluttony and overweight. Perhaps you are ready to turn from abusing food; maybe you’ve used it to meet needs beyond nourishment of the body.
Praise the Lord!
Walk in faith.
Faithsizing may be acknowledging an addiction and the realization you’re ready to tear down those idols and live in freedom.
Praise the Lord!
Walk in faith.
Faithsizing may be breaking the shackles that bind you to consumer debt and enslave you to a life of trying to keep up with the Jones’s.
Praise the Lord!
Walk in faith.
Faithsizing can have many different faces. It’s personal.
Whatever it is, you feel it pulling you down.
You want to be free.
I want to be free.
Our family wanted to be free.
We did not want to live in fear of financial ruin. We wanted to be good stewards of what the Lord allotted us. We did not want irrelevant things to bind us. Instead, we wanted to have time as a family to sit, talk, laugh, pray and LIVE together in the peace you only know when walking in faith.
THAT is what faithsizing is about for us.
Faithsizing gives me the ability to reframe.
It’s true that my office is mosquito-laden and humid in the summer, but it also has a ton of natural light and a fantastic view of the lake.
It’s true that our home has no rooms, needs leveling, windows that won’t open, and an endless list of other things. What’s also true is that we cut our monthly bills by more than $1100, have more time for each other, and we bear witness to the fact that our God shall supply all our needs.
There are other personal areas of my life I need to faithsize; for instance, I fell off my health track and need to realign my relationship with food.
I’ll get there. I’ll set that pace soon.
You know what you’re called to faithsize in your life.
We all do.
Others may not see it in you, but you know it.
Be honest about it.
Admit it to yourself. Give it to the Lord. Tell someone you trust for accountability.
And then, set a pace and walk it out in faith.
